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Old 02-18-2017, 08:06 AM   #1
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Houston , Texas
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Vintage AS frame repair suggestions?

I have a 1969 Safari 23'. I wasn't planning to go this far down in the renovation process, but everytime I peeled away one layer of the onion, another presented itself that also needed attention. Anyway, now I'm down to the outer shell and the subfloor and it is apparent the frame needs repair. I know of at least one place where the floor was rotting and when I pulled it up, discovered the frame had rotted out in that spot and had been replaced with a piece of 1x4 pine! I'm looking for suggestions on who to take it to for repair. I would also like to go ahead and replace the axel based on other information I've read on the forum. I am in Houston, Texas. Any suggestions would be appriated.
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Old 02-18-2017, 08:44 AM   #2
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2005 30' Safari
Montgomery , Texas
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I've seen a guy in (I think) New Braunfels who does vintage restoration. Found him on Google. Bob Jones RV in South Houston may, not sure on the vintage part. I don't have experience with vintage restoration, those who do may be able to guide you to someone non RV specific that could do the welding if you know what to tell them you need and where. Good luck and post pictures-- we all love to see what things look like!
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Old 02-18-2017, 10:04 AM   #3
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1959 22' Flying Cloud
Escondido , California
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FWIW, if you can't find an experienced Airstream person you can try classic car restoration companies. Sometimes the smaller shops don't mind doing this kind of work since they do lots of frame repair along with axle installs. Also, since it's a vintage model it's what they like.

If you do a complete shell off job they can blast the frame and paint it too.
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Old 02-18-2017, 10:14 AM   #4
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1966 22' Safari
1955 22' Flying Cloud
Fredericksburg , Texas
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I just finished our 1955 chassis rebuild. The way I did it was to purchase some 14 gauge purlins from a local steel supplier like Metal Mart or Triple S Steel. Any welding shop can weld the new members back where the old ones were. Since I'm not a good welder, I let the professionals do the welding. Since the 'C' channel has a lip that could hold moisture, I drilled some weep holes in the bottom. Can it be safely transported to a shop? There are a lot of AS owners living in and around Houston that may be a source for good information.
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Old 02-18-2017, 12:19 PM   #5
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1967 26' Overlander
Spartanburg , South Carolina
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For vintage work, it is a good idea to join the Vintage intra club of the Wally Byam Airstream Club, aka WBCCI. The vintage folks have mostly been through everything possible with the old airstreams and are usually willing to impart information just for the asking. In only costs $95 per year for WBCCI and $20 py for the Vintage club.
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Old 02-18-2017, 05:47 PM   #6
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1978 Argosy Minuet 6.7 Metre
1971 27' Overlander
1973 31' Sovereign
Griffin , Georgia
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I'm rebuilding a '71 Overlander Putting her back together... wooHoo!, I took Dixie to a welding shop after I had removed the bad spots in the sub floor. Added a grey water tank while I was at it, and had the welder add in supports for it
Good luck ��
It's soooo worth it!
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Old 02-19-2017, 04:43 PM   #7
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1948 16' Wee Wind
1964 26' Overlander
2007 19' Bambi
crossville , Tennessee
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pull belly and do full inspection so u know whats there .
we are far away but seems mark at airstreamguy.com is within striking distance of u
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